


Love Me Like You Do, Like You Always Did

by KylaSheaHarkins



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Carla and Grisha were homophobic, Carla is okay now, Eren Is a Little Shit, Eren is a YouTuber, Eren is bisexual, Erwin and Hanji are excellent supportive friends, Eventual Smut, Flirting without realizing it Lol, Grisha is dead, Levi is a businessman, Levi slept with a woman during a one night stand at college, Levi/Eren Yeager-centric, M/M, Mikasa and Armin are excellent supportive friends, Modern AU, Norah Kuchel Ackerman is from a one night Stand, Slow Build, Smut, Some angst, Sorey Finnian Jaeger is from Eren's previous marriage, Switching, They each have a kid, bottom! Eren, bottom! levi, ereri, happy family!, kind of, lots of fluff later, riren - Freeform, the sexual tension is too fuckin real, these tags are too fuckin much lol, they dated when they were younger, top! eren, top! levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-23 22:23:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8345059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KylaSheaHarkins/pseuds/KylaSheaHarkins
Summary: Do you believe in fate? In destined soul mates? Eren still did, Levi did not. Even after everything that happened in their past. When they find each other again, everything is so different, but in a good way.
I'm shit at summaries and I'm sorry.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was laying in bed one night. I was thinking back to my first love, my true love. He was ripped from my life when I was 16, and I haven't spoken to him since. I was thinking about what would happen if we ran into each other again, maybe if we had kids. Would that spark still be there? 
> 
> And then the genius idea of using Eren and Levi as my vessels came to my mind. 
> 
> Please Enjoy!

Eren had seen this so many times. Sometimes there wetter differences; different people in his peripheral vision, heading to a different class, wearing a different outfit. But the scene always played out the same, and though he knew he was dreaming, he could never bring himself to wake up. It would make his heart ache to the point of nausea when he woke up, but it was always worth it, to see hisbface again.  

 

To feel the warmth of his body, shorter than Eren, and he always smelled of soap and some sort of high dollar cologne. His hair was the darkest black, but so soft and Eren loved to run his fingers through the signature undercut. Eyes the color of grey storm clouds, Eren always stared into them wishing they would just swallow him up. Lips pink and full, perfectly soft and shyly kissed with uncertainty. Skin pale but in an appealing way, and muscles defined like that of a Greek God.

 

_He began walking down the hall, past old classmates and classrooms. He heard Connie and Sasha laughing in the distance, saw Jean and Marco making out beside the bathrooms, but his eyes were focused dead ahead. He knew he would be there, he always was when this dream decided to haunt his head, at the most random times._

Even after fourteen years.

_The students thinned out, and there, standing in the middle of the hall he stood._

_Black skinny jeans, black converse, some band t-shirt Eren couldn't quite read because_ _of the font, and his signature leather jacket._

_Two piercings in his ears, two more on each side of his lower lip, a bar in his tongue._

_“Levi.”_

_Eren breathed out the name, tasting it sweetly on his tongue._

_He felt his heart begin to race, to the point where it hurt and felt like it was going to burst from his rib cage._

_“Eren.”_

_The sound of Levi’s voice made Eren almost fall to the floor. In this dream was the only time he was able to hear Levi's deep, velvet voice anymore. He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He walked over to the shorter male and threw his amrs around his strong shoulders._

_“I miss you so much, Levi.” He always said this and Levi never said anything back to him._

_After a couple of minutes of just holding each other, Levi put his hands on Eren’s shoulders and pushed him back far enough to see his face._

_“I will do whatever I can to make you happy. Everything will be alright in the end, I promise. I love you."_

_Levi’s lips barely brushed his as he spoke, Eren found he couldn't move, couldn't move just the  millimeter forward so he could put his lips fully on Levi's.  
_

_Could only stand there and listen to the words he had read and re-read the past years._

 

Eren woke with a start, sobbing loudly before he could control it. A broken version of Levi’s name fell from his lips as he put his fists over his eyes and cried. He clawed at his chest, feeling that if he could just get his pounding heart out, it would make the hurt go away. 

 

He reached over to his bedside table and dug through the drawer. Bringing out a small box, big enough for a necklace he opened it and pulled out the folded piece of paper. The note was smooth and thin with how many times he had opened and re-opened the short message inside. It was what kept him going all these years. He read the hand-writtwn note as thick, hot tears streamed down his face.

 

It was always like this. For fourteen years, the same dream haunted him. Sometimes every night for weeks or months on end, sometimes it would be six months to a year before his brain dredged up the most painful dream he had ever experienced.

 

“Daddy, are you okay?”

 

* * *

 

 

Why did this same dream insist on torturing him? 

 

What god had he pissed off to deserve this sort of pain?

 

_He was standing in the rain, it was always the fucking rain. Dark purple and grey clouds clung overhead, the rain was hard and cold, the thunder cracked loud and the lightening was blinding._

_None of that mattered to him, because his eyes were fixed dead ahead, where Levi knew he would be standing._

_His back turned to Levi, but Levi walked to him anyways. He always did, no matter how much he screamed in his head to turn back, his body kept moving forward. He didn’t even try to wake himself up anymore._

_The man in front of him turned and faced him._

_“Levi.”_

_The voice was deep and melodic, with a hint of sadness._

Taller than Levi, but only by a few inches. He hadn’t minded the height difference at all. Hair the color of Hershey kisses, the milk chocolate kind. Skin tanned like it had been kissed by the Sun God himself, long, lithe and muscular limbs. Lips full, soft. He knew from memory and experience.

He looked into the eyes last.

 

There was no color on the spectrum that matched the boy’s eyes in front of him. A seductive mixture of green and blue. A beautiful teal color towards the iris’s with flecks of gold.

 

He hadn’t seen another pair of eyes that color in fourteen years. He was glad for it.

_“Eren.”_

He knew what was coming next, couldn’t flinch away. He knew that this dream would cause a pain worse than any death. His heart would ache, and there was nothing he could do about it. No amount of drowning himself in work, or distracting himself in general would ease the pain in his chest. Possibly for days on end.

 

The dream showed itself at random, sometimes everyday for weeks or months on end. Torturing him relentlessly, to the point where he would be a sobbing mess on his bed every night, until his body became numb again.

 

Sometimes the dream disappeared for almost a year, sometimes a year and a few months. And although you would think he’d be glad for it’s disappearance, it made him even sadder.

 

You see, in this dream was the only time he could see and touch Eren. Could hear that beautiful voice call his name anymore. and touch Eren.

_The sky darkened further, and though he wanted to squeeze his eyes shut in a feeble attenpt to protect his broken heart, his body wouldn't listen._

_He was made to stare into those beautiful eyes as the words slipped out of the taller male's mouth._

_“I’ll always love you, Levi. Please, please believe me. You’re my everything, I swear on my life. But I’ve hurt you, and I can’t forgive myself for it, even if you say you can I know that’s not true. Now isn’t the right time for us. Maybe when we’re a little older, more mature and less stupid.” A humorless laugh was tacked on to the end of the little speech._

**_No!_** , Levi thought,  ** _I forgave you a long time ago! Eren I love you! Please don’t leave me!_**

_“Please be safe and live your life to the fullest Levi. That’s the last thing I’ll ask of you.”_

_The words had played over in his head like a broken record. It was the last thing Levi heard Eren say to him, before he left school, moved away, and they haven’t seen each other since._

_Levi tried to reach out to the retreating figure._  

 

“NO!”

 

Levi was sitting up in bed, his arm outstretched and his hand opened, grasping at air.

 

He couldn’t help it, a choked sob escaped his throat. It sounded strange to his ears, because he hardly ever cried. But this dream was the only thing that could bring such broken sounds out of him.

 

He mumbled Eren’s name over and over, face buried in his hands.

 

“Papa, what’s wrong?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Sorey! Please don’t run, I don’t want you to get hurt.” Eren put down the last box on the new kitchen table.

“But daddy! This place is so big!” Eren looked down into teal eyes, the same as his own. His seven-year-old son was a handful at times, but Eren’s mom said Sorey was just like him at that age. He chuckled at the thought, making a mental note to call his mom and invite her over for dinner soon.

He looked at his son, who was basically a clone of Eren. There was no trace of Danielle anywhere in his features. Eren felt bad about it, but he was kind of glad.

He turned, beginning to unpack the dishes from the box he was just holding.

“Why don’t you go explore your new room by unpacking your toys. I’m going to vlog tonight, so I want this place semi-presentable.” He heard Sorey skip down the hall, laughing with an “Okay daddy!” thrown over his shoulder.

Eren really hoped the walls were as thick as his new landlord had said, ‘Almost soundproof!’. What with Sorey’s energetic self, and his tendency to yell at his video games, Eren though the place was perfect.

He took out his vlogging camera and turned it on, flipping the screen to him.

“Hey what’s up guys? Sorey and I just finished bringing in the last box! This place is huge, compared to where we were before. And the view is ah-may-zing!” Eren walked onto the balcony and flipped the camera, showing his view of the city below and the ocean farther out. He was careful not to show any recognizable landmarks, he had had fans in the past show up at his last apartment by figuring out where he lived from his vlogs.

He had made a serious video after that, saying he didn’t mind meeting his fans out and about in the city. But having strangers show up at any hour of the day or night would scare his son and he wouldn’t hesitate to call the police.

His subscription count fell a little after that, with arrogant assholes saying ‘ _the fans make the youtubers!_ ’ and stuff like that. He didn’t care, to be honest. As long as YouTube kept paying him and he had enough money to provide for Sorey he couldn’t be bothered to lose a few followers.

He flipped the camera back to him and sat down in a chair at the two-seater table set he bought specifically for this balcony. He babbled more about how exhausting unpacking and watching a seven-year-old was, and finally said he would catch them later with more updates. Clicking off the camera, he stood and stretched. His back gave a satisfying pop.

He looked to the neighboring balcony. There were only six apartments per floor, each with balconies so each side of the building had a set of two balconies. The building itself had forty-five floors. Eren and Sorey had moved into apartment 34E.

The balcony beside his was empty, save for a single chair. He heard the sliding glass door open to the neighboring apartment and his eyes met those of a little girl.

She had black hair, pale skin, and grey eyes.

His breath hitched. ‘ _Don’t think about him!_ ’ he screamed to himself inside his head. He gave a small wave and she smiled and waved back. Eren saw her head jerk back and he assumed her parent or nanny must have said something to her. When she shut the door he shrugged and walked back to the kitchen, continuing to unpack the dishes.

 

* * *

 

 

Sorey watched his dad walk out onto the balcony, talking to his camera. The young boy still didn’t understand how talking to a camera made them so much money, but his daddy now let him get video games and whatever toys he wanted.

He waited until his daddy sat down in the chair and he walked out into the living room. This place really was big! Daddy said it had three bedrooms and three bathrooms, but one of the bedrooms was going to be his office. That’s where he sat in front of the computer and played video games and talked to the camera. The bathroom in the hall was for guests daddy said.

Sorey had his own bathroom! And his bedroom was connected to it, so he wouldn’t need to wake up daddy and have a flashlight to go to the bathroom anymore. He could now go by himself at night, like a big boy! Daddy bought him a bigger bed, so he could have more stuffed animals to sleep with, and he had a TV in his room now.

Daddy’s room was bigger than his, and didn’t have toys. Just a few pictures of himself with daddy, some of them both with nana and grandpa. Sorey walked into the adjoined bathroom. This bathroom was the biggest. It had a big shower that could probably fit three of daddy and a big bathtub with holes in the side. Daddy said those were jets and we could play in the big bathtub tonight. He was so excited!

Sorey walked back out into the living room, seeing his daddy still talking to the camera. He was now showing off the ocean. Sorey loved the ocean, he and daddy had so much fun every time they went! The salt tasted funny in his mouth, but letting his body roll with the waves and daddy teaching him how to swim was so worth it!

Sorey’s eyes lit up with an idea.

He peeked back at his daddy once more, before walking to the front door and slipping out.

This place was a big rectangle (he remembered from school!). He walked to the door beside his new home and knocked. His teacher had said introducing yourself to your neighbors shows you’re polite. He had to do it at his new school on Friday, so he would do it to the people that lived in the big rectangle with him and daddy!

The door opened and a girl a little older than him was peeking out.

“What?”

She didn’t sound mad, just annoyed.

“Hi! I’m Sorey! My daddy and I just moved here. We live right there!” He pointed to the door he came out of. “What’s your name?”

“Norah Kuchel Ackerman.” She stuck her hand out and Sorey took it, she shook their hands up and down.

“My full name is Sorey Finnian Jaeger!”

“That’s a funny name.”

“It is not! What kind of name is Kuchel?”

“French.”

“What’s French?”

“A language.”

“What’s a language?”

“How we’re talking now? That’s a language called English.”

“Oh. What does French sound like?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know French.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“You play Xbox?”

“Yeah! My daddy plays all sorts of video games and gets paid for it! We play all sorts of stuff together!”

“Cool. Wanna play on my Xbox together? I have this really cool zombie game.”

“Yeah!”

Sorey took Norah’s hand and walked into the apartment. His bright teal eyes flicked around the room, seeing the furniture was a combination of beige, black, white, and navy blue. Everything looked so clean!

“Take your shoes off at the door.”

Sorey toed his shoes off and followed Norah, still holding her hand. They walked down the hall and into her room, which was painted a light green color, and decorated with white furniture.

Her room was the same as his new room! Maybe he could ask daddy if they could paint his room a different color. His favorite color was blue, just like daddy’s!

They sat on the two bean bags and Norah started a game called “Black Ops 3: Zombies”. It was hard for Sorey to get the hang of it, but he managed to kill a few of the terrifying creatures. He had been playing video games as long as he could remember, but he hadn’t played this game before.

“Do you live here by yourself?”, Sorey asked.

“Tch. No. I live here with my papa. I’m only ten, I can’t work yet. My papa works at a big company with Erwin and Hanji.”

“Who are they?”

“Papa’s friends. Erwin is as tall as a tree! And he has really big eyebrows. But he’s really nice and gives good hugs. Plus, when we go to a parade or the pier, he lets me sit on his shoulders and I can see really high! And Hanji is really funny and teases papa a lot. She plays video games with me when she stays over sometimes.”

Sorey listened and nodded. “Daddy’s friends haven’t seen our new place yet. Daddy has lots of friends! There’s Aunt Mikasa and Uncle Armin, they’re not really daddy’s brother and sister, but they grew up like it. And then there’s Jeanbo and Freckled Jesus, their names are actually Jean and Marco, I don’t know why no one calls them by their real names. And finally, Connie and Sasha. They are so funny and always bring me candies from around the world! They’re traveling and studying to become chefs daddy says. Aunt Mika fights people for a living. M! M? MMA! That’s it! Uncle Armin is a lawyer and puts bad people in jail. And Jeanbo and Freckled Jesus own a coffee shop. They make the best donuts!”

Norah listened and laughed. Sorey’s daddy’s friends had funny names.

They fell into silence as they began another match, Norah lowering the level and killing most of the zombies.

 

* * *

 

 Levi was going to kill Norah.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that extreme, but he was still considering grounding her ass.

She was supposed to wait at school for him to pick her up. He had told her this morning, and yet she wasn’t there. The teachers said she got on a bus and went home. He was planning on taking her to the movies tonight to see that new Disney movie, but now he was too pissed.

Does she not know how dangerous it can be for a ten-year-old girl to walk the streets of this city alone? There were a lot of people and she could easily get snatched up and he’d never see her again.

He reached his apartment door and fished out his keys, unlocking the door and stepping inside. He toed off his shoes and noticed a pair of small sneakers beside Norah’s sandals.

Who the hell did those belong to?

He walked through the living room. “Norah?” He saw the sliding glass door slightly ajar, and opened it. Peeking out to see if she was on the balcony, she wasn’t.

“Sorey? Sorey!?”

He had completely forgotten that he was getting a new neighbor today. He figured the voice was talking to a dog, ‘ _great. A barking ankle biter._ ’ He thought with a grimace. He much preferred cats.

He walked down the hall and heard laughter from Norah’s open bedroom door. He wouldn’t embarrass her if she had a friend over, but then he heard her say. “Hey Sorey, try pressing this combo. He’s weak against it.” He froze, that was the name his mysterious neighbor was calling out just now. He swung the door open and spotted his daughter crouched down next to a smaller boy, probably six or seven.

The two children looked up and him and he had to mentally slap himself for almost grabbing his chest in shock.

The kid, Sorey, those eyes.

_His eyes_.

A loud banging at his door knocked him back into reality. “Sorey, I think that might be your dad looking for you.” He said firmly, and the children followed him out into the hall to the front door.

As soon as the door was slightly opened, it was pushed the rest of the way by a flying body. Levi saw a flash of tan skin and a brown mop of hair as it clutched to the child sitting down putting his shoes on.

“Sorey! Oh my God Sorey why did you leave the apartment! Oh my God, oh my God are you okay? You can’t do that! You can’t leave without telling me!”

Levi could hear the man’s voice become thick with emotion, reminding him of himself when Norah would walk home by herself. Laced with worry. But why did the voice sound familiar to him?

The raven haired man cleared his throat and shifted.

“I just came home and found him playing video games with my daughter. I was just about to bring him back over. I heard you calling for him from the balcony.”

Eren froze, body tensing up at the sound of that voice. It sounded so familiar, but no he couldn’t think of that, of him right now.

Eren stood and smoothed Sorey’s hair down before turning to the man speaking to him.

Both men stared with wide eyes.

_It can’t be._

_You’ve got to be fucking kidding me._

“It...It’s you...”, Levi muttered. Disbelief and shock in his eyes.

Eren blushed and stared back, probably mirroring Levi’s shocked expression.

“It’s me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live off of Kudos and Comments, feed me Reader-Chan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6,300 words of these two being the biggest fucking dorks.

The two men continued to stare at each other, until Sorey tugged on Eren’s sleeve. “Daddy, do you know Norah’s daddy?”

 

“Papa”, Norah corrected.

 

“Do you know Norah’s Papa?”, Sorey asked again.

 

Eren closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, taking in a deep breath and counted to five. He opened them again and turned from Levi. His stomach was in knots and his throat felt too thick to speak. He turned to his son.

 

“Sorey, you can’t leave the apartment without telling me. Now, say goodbye to Norah. We have to finish unpacking.”

 

He turned to Levi, who hadn’t said a word. “I’m sorry my son just barged into your home. He, uh, he’s a little stubborn and determined when he wants to do something.”

 

Levi felt completely numb, and he knew he was making a stupid face by how uncomfortable Eren was becoming. He still hadn’t said anything! ‘ _Jesus fucking Christ Ackerman. Get a hold of yourself. It’s been fourteen fucking years! Act like an adult!_ ’ He mentally scolded himself.

 

“I-it’s fine.”

 

‘ _Did I seriously just fucking stutter?!_ ’ Levi continued, “He’s welcome to play with Norah anytime. They seem to get along pretty well.”

 

‘ _Yeah, give yourself an excuse to see him again._ ’ Levi didn’t miss the way Eren’s eyebrows rose in shock. What was that about?

 

“Yeah, okay. That’ll be fine with me. As long as it doesn’t interfere with your work or mine, I don’t care if they have a play date every once in awhile.”, Eren said and smiled. He then turned, grabbing Sorey’s shoes off the floor and taking his son’s hand. “But we really have to go, we have a lot to get done. Tell Norah bye and tell Mr. Ackerman thank you for letting you play.”

 

When Eren turned his back to Levi, the raven haired man nearly fell over. That fucking smile was so beautiful and it was real.

 

“He can call me Levi, if he wants. The only people who call me Mr. Ackerman are people at work who want to kiss my ass and get promoted.” The words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them. “Sorry, I, um...” He didn’t finish before Eren was chuckling, “It’s fine. Sorey hears it at home too. Thank you again, if you, uh, need anything I’m right next door.” He laughed again.

 

“Thank you for letting me play with Norah Mr. Levi!”, the bright eyed kid looked up at him and grinned. Levi nodded his head back, and told him “anytime, kid.” Sorey hugged Norah and grabbed Eren’s hand, and then the two were gone. Levi backed against the door and slid down. He had no idea what facial expression he was making, but it was hilarious to his daughter. She sat down and took off his shoes for him, setting them neatly beside hers. She then leaned on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck,

 

“Sorry I left school Papa. I just really wanted to play the new game you got me. And then by the time I remembered you saying you wanted to go to the movies, I was already home.” Levi hugged his daughter back, “It’s alright. You know I just get worried.”

 

“Papa.”

She leaned back, looking at him with a serious expression. God, she looked too much like him. Exactly like him, in fact. No trace of Elizabeth anywhere, and he wasn’t ashamed to say he was glad for it. It may have been a mistake sleeping with Elizabeth while drunk, but he would never regret that Norah was the result of it.

 

“Yes?”

 

He didn’t know why she was so serious, what could a ten-year-old need to have that facial expression for?

 

“What’s Sorey’s daddy’s name?”

 

He hid his confusion, “Didn’t Sorey tell you?”

 

“No. What’s his first and last name. It’s important.”

 

“It’s Eren Jaeger. E-R-E-N J-A-E-G-E-R. Why?” His daughter ran into his office, Levi following close behind. He saw her get on his laptop and pull up YouTube. She typed in Eren’s first and last name and a channel popped up.

 

“ **Eren Jaeger** ”

 

“I knew it!” His daughter yelled, making him jump. “Knew what?”, he asked. “He’s the YouTuber Eren Jaeger! Oh my god! I live next to THE Eren Jaeger!”, his daughter never got excited over a lot of things, taking after his own personality.

 

After his daughter had calmed down, he sat her down on his knee while she scrolled through his various videos. He had two channels, apparently. One for vlogging and challenges, and the other for gaming only. The gaming channel was called, “ **Eren Bombastic** ”. She clicked on a video that seemed to have Eren and Sorey.

 

“Hey what’s up guys! Today I have a very special guest, Sorey!” The child ran into the frame and sat on Eren’s lap.

 

“Hi everyone! Thanks for watching today!” Levi had to admit, the kid was adorable as shit, and he looked just like Eren. Then again, Eren could have gotten with someone with brown hair and green eyes, resulting in Sorey looking like that.

 

Levi didn’t linger on that thought.

 

The video was about them unboxing some sort of box you order online that puts random shit in it each month. Eren’s was a gaming box, and that month’s theme had been Legend of Zelda.

 

“Let’s see, we’ve got: a Zelda shirt, a poster, some stickers, a Majorah’s Mask mini figurine, a LOZ stylus, and a mug. Wow, this month’s box was so amazing! There’s a link below if you guys want to start ordering from GamerBox, first month is free just pay shipping! Alright Sorey, what did you get in your box this month?”

 

Sorey began pulling out different candies that were all wrapped in bright colored paper. “This month I got some Pikachu gum, a strawberry sucker, some sort of caramel candy, and other stuff I can’t name. But I’m sure it’s good!” Eren laughed at his son and began reading off the different candies that were written on a piece of paper in the box. It was apparently a box of Japanese candy.

 

“There’s a link below if you guys want to order from SkoshBox, first month is free of course, just pay shipping! That’s it for today’s video, if you want to see another unboxing video press the ‘Like’ button! Bye!”

 

The video ended with Eren and Sorey waving at the camera, the kid having a mouth full of the bubble gum. Norah clicked on more videos for the better part of an hour. There were videos of Eren doing ‘challenges’ with his friends; Levi recognized some of their classmates in some of the videos. Then some were of Eren just walking around what must have been where they moved from in vlogs. Levi’s leg was numb when he made Norah get up, telling her they needed to eat dinner.

 

He’d get back to Eren’s videos later.

 

* * *

 

 

Eren and Sorey walked back into the apartment silently.

 

“Sorey, please go unpack your toys like I asked.”

 

“Daddy, are you mad at me?”, Sorey may have been a hyper-active child, but he easily picked up on others emotions.

 

“No little dude. I’m not mad. It just scared me when you were gone and I didn’t know where you went. Please don’t do that again, okay? If something happens to you, daddy will be really sad”, Eren smiled at his son. The kid was really too much like him.

 

“Okay. I’ll clean my room. I’ll make it as clean as Mr. Levi’s and Norah’s house!”, and with that Sorey ran back to his room.

 

“Good luck with that”, Eren muttered under his breath. If he remembered correctly, there had been quite a few times Levi had made him stay awake well past two in the morning to ‘clean’ his room. Which had resulted in scrubbing literally every single item and corner.

 

Eren sat down at the kitchen table and put his face in his hands. Levi was here, physically here, really here. He looked up at the wall opposite of where he was sitting. ‘ _He’s on the other side of that wall. He was so close I could smell his cologne, the same he wore in high school._ ’ He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, and he rubbed them. If Sorey saw him crying, he’d think Eren was upset at him.

 

He continued to unpack the kitchen, and after an hour or so had passed, used an app on his phone to order pizza. Once it arrived, he called Sorey to the table where they dug into their food. Sorey began telling him what he had did with Norah earlier. He told Eren about the video games they played, and how Norah helped him kill enemies, he asked if they could paint his room blue since Norah had her green, and then he asked something Eren was hoping he had forgotten about.

 

“Daddy. You were looking at Mr. Levi funny, do you know him? You didn’t answer when I asked earlier.”

 

Eren swallowed, “Yeah, I know him. We went to high school together.”

 

“Well, you went to school with Aunt Mika and Uncle Armin too, and you still talk to them. I’ve never heard of Mr. Levi, why don’t you two talk?”

 

“Sorey.” Sorey noted the serious tone in his daddy’s voice.

 

“Sorry, daddy.”

 

“It’s okay little dude. I’ll tell you about it when you’re older, okay?”

 

“Okay!”

 

Eren asked Sorey what he wanted to do during the weekend before school on Monday. Sorey told Eren he wanted to play his new game system, and his daddy could talk to the camera some more. This had Eren laughing, his son sometimes had a weird way of wording things.

 

“How about a bed time story?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

Eren followed his son to the master bathroom, letting him use as many bubbles for his bath as he wanted. After his bath, they brushed their teeth and went to Sorey’s room. Eren pulled the gaming chair to the side of the bed while his son situated his stuffed animals. Once his son was settled under the covers, Eren began his story.

 

_Once upon a time there was a prince. He was known for having the most beautiful eyes in all the land, but he was also known for something else: he had unbearably cruel parents. They kept him locked away in the castle at all times, and the only people he saw besides them, were his two servants. The three were the best of friends, and they talked about sneaking the prince out all the time._

 

_One day, the King and Queen had been especially cruel. They told their son that he would have to marry someone he did not love! The prince could not stand to stay there any longer, and he conspired with his two friends to sneak him away in the dead of night. So they gathered supplies and food, and on the night of the new moon, they ran away._

 

_They ran and ran, for days they kept moving, until they came across a village and stayed at the inn. At this inn, the keeper’s wife was a known witch, a good one of course. She told the prince, that in three days, he would meet his true love. The prince scoffed at her and said “There’s no such thing”. She told him his true love would be by the lake on the night of the full moon._

 

_But!_

 

_If the two did not have true love’s first kiss exactly seven days after that, then the two would be separated for all of eternity. The prince did not believe the witch, but the three friends were so exhausted that they couldn’t run anymore. They stayed at the village and got to know the townspeople. They met many blacksmiths, seamstresses, and gardeners, everyone was so nice to them. See, they didn’t know the young man was actually the missing prince!_

 

_Three days after the witch’s premonition, the prince was walking in the woods gathering apples, and he came across a lake. He laughed to himself as he thought back to what the witch said, and walked to the water’s edge. He placed his foot in the water, and noticed it was the perfect temperature for swimming, so he stripped down to his underwear and dove right in! He swam around until dusk, and that was when he got a weird feeling, like someone was watching him. He floated in the water, looking around and that was when he saw... A man!_

 

_Sitting on a rock by the edge of the lake, watching him with a smile on his face!_

 

_The prince was shocked, and swam up to the stranger, intending on telling him off. When the prince got out of the water and walked to up to the rock the stranger was perched on, the man laughed._

 

_“What’s so funny?” the prince asked, irritated._

 

_“I haven’t seen a human in my lake in a very long time,” the stranger said to him._

 

_“What do you mean?”, the prince said, less annoyed now._

 

_“I am the spirit of this lake. Some say it is possessed by a demon, that is why no one comes near it. Yet, here you are.”_

 

_The prince looked at the stranger and said, “You look like an ordinary human, not a demon. How do I know you’re serious?”_

 

_The stranger said nothing as his eyes began to glow a bright silver, and he waved his hand at the lake. The prince turned and saw water spouting from the middle, like that of a fountain._

 

_“I believe you.” the prince told the spirit, “but I must be going. My friends will wonder where I’ve gone.”_

 

_“Very well”, the spirit replied. “Come see me again, tomorrow.”_

 

_The prince returned to the village and told no one of his encounter, afraid they may think him mad. Yet the next day, he returned. And the day after, and the day after that. Every night for six days he went to see the spirit. They stayed up talking all night, and the prince’s chest would flutter with warmth when the spirit kissed his hand at the break of dawn. The prince told the spirit he was in love with him._

 

_“Kiss me, tomorrow it will be the full moon. I’ll wait for you, my love. I will be able to leave this lake, and we will be immortal. We can walk the Earth for all of eternity together.” With one last kiss on his hand, the prince returned to the village and crawled into bed._

 

_There were shouts when he woke, and when he looked out of the window, he saw the knights from his kingdom raiding every house. It was then that his door was kicked down, and in came his father._

 

_The prince was dragged back to the kingdom, and locked away in a tower. He wasted away, refusing to eat or drink anything. His heart was broken, and eventually, he passed away._

 

“Like grandpa passed away?”, Sorey interrupted.

 

“Yes, like grandpa did.”, Eren answered.

 

“What about the water spirit?”

 

_The water spirit waited every night for his true love to return to him. Some say he still waits by the lakeside, and on a full moon, you can see him._

 

_The end._

 

“Daddy that story was so sad!” Sorey cried out, tears rolling down his sons face.

 

“I know. I’m sorry Sorey, want me to tell a happier story before you fall asleep? Or read one of your books?”

 

His son shook his head, no. “I like that story daddy, it was just sad. Why didn’t the prince’s mama and daddy want him to be with his true love?”

 

He sighed, “Sometimes, people are just taken away from each other. There’s nothing they can do. But if fate allows it, they can find each other again.”

 

He kissed his son’s forehead. “Go to sleep for me, alright?” Sorey nodded, wiping his eyes.

 

“I hope the water spirit can be happy someday too, daddy.” Eren said nothing, walking around and tidying up the room.

 

When he flicked on the night light, he turned to Sorey who was asleep.

 

Eren walked to his room, he was planning on vlogging, but he just didn’t have it in him at the moment.

 

Instead, he called Mikasa and Armin on a group call. He told them about everything that happened that day.

 

“Eren, this is the chance you wanted!”, this came from Armin.

 

“He’s right Eren. This has tortured you for years, and I know you’ve tried to let go and couldn’t. This could be the chance to set things right between you two. Get out the words you could never say. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but it could also be a chance to possibly work things out, if that what you both want”, Mikasa said.

 

“You guys always know the right things to say to me. It’s just so awkward and he just stared at me! And then he said his daughter could play with Sorey whenever and I just wonder why he’d do that. He must hate me so much for what happened. I’d hate me if I were him”, Eren clutched his pillow tighter.

 

“How many times do we have to tell you, Eren? You two were so in love with each other. If it weren’t for Grisha, and your mom was kind of at fault too, you two might have been married by now. But if I remember correctly, it was Levi who told you to make choices with no regrets, right? Even if you don’t know the outcome, never regret your decisions”, Armin said with finality.

 

How many times had he said that to himself, and then found himself clutching at his chest because his heart hurt so bad at just the thought of Levi.

 

But his favorite coconut was right.

 

“You guys are right. He lives right next door now, and he’s made an open invitation for our kids to play together. Maybe we can get to know each other again. I’d rather have him in my life as a friend than not have him in it at all. It nearly killed me.”

 

“We know”, Mikasa and Armin spoke at the same time.

 

Eren had a severe problem with self harm after he and Levi broke up. The brunet told his two best friends goodnight, and hung up.

 

He showered quickly and finally laid down in the bed, but before he fell asleep, he took the note out from his bedside table. Reading over it about ten times, he finally folded it back and put it away.

 

That night, he had a dream. Not a nightmare, but just memories of when Sorey was a baby and a toddler. It was the best night’s sleep he’d had in years.

 

* * *

 

 

Levi made Norah and himself some spaghetti. She cleaned up her room while he cooked, and then he asked her to set the table.

 

“Papa, Sorey asked his daddy if you two know each other. He didn’t answer though. Do you know Eren?”

 

‘ _Oh, she’s on a first name basis with Eren now?_ ’ Levi chuckled at his daughter. She was so serious.

 

“Yes, we went to school together.” His daughter finished chewing and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

 

“But you and Erwin and Hanji went to school together and you all still talk! Why did I just hear about Eren today?” Levi sighed, his daughter could be so hard headed.

 

“Sometimes people just stop being friends as they get older. I’ll tell you more about it when you’re a little older, okay?”

 

“Papa?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Will me and you stop talking the older we get?” Then again, his daughter sometimes acted like the child she was.

 

He walked over to her and leaned down to hug her.

 

“No sweetheart, it’s different because you’re my daughter. I’ll always be here for you, okay?”

 

Norah nodded, and they finished dinner in silence.

 

“Papa, can I play with Sorey tomorrow?” Levi froze, knowing that would mean he’d have to see Eren again.

 

‘ _Oh my god Ackerman. Act like a fucking adult._ ’

 

“We’ll see. I’ll take you over there around three and you can ask to play, okay?”

 

She nodded and smiled, “Thanks Papa. Goodnight, I love you.” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

 

“Goodnight kiddo, love you too.” Levi retreated to his office when Norah’s door closed, he was going to get ahead on some paper work.

 

His finger froze over the keyboard, the screen had come out of sleep mode and Eren’s YouTube channel was still pulled up.

 

‘ _Oh my god you fucking masochist_ ’, Levi thought to himself as he clicked the first video he saw.

 

The camera was focused on a whiteboard that took up the entire frame. Then Eren began talking.

 

_Hey guys! So I guess I’m going to jump on the band wagon and do a “Draw My Life” video. Enjoy! I was born on March 30th, so that makes me an Aries. Ask anyone who knows me and they will say I’m the epitome of a hot-headed ram._

 

Levi watched as Eren’s hands appeared on the screen, drawing an oval that looked like a snowman with two balls instead of three, which was supposed to be him as a baby, and then a bad drawing of the Aries symbol.

 

_I grew up an only child, but I have two best friends, Armin and Mikasa. They’ve been my friends since we were literally babies and we’re still close to this day!_

 

This time it was three ‘children’, two boys and a girl. Levi vaguely remembered the two mentioned friends, who were in the same grade as he and Eren.

 

_When I was eleven, and I had to start seventh grade at a new school with kids I had never met before. Our city had three elementary schools, but one middle school and high school. So I had classes with kids I had never met before._

 

Eren drew a giant brick school building, the middle school where Levi had met him in eighth grade.

 

_Middle school was awkward, but I found my people. The weird kids, the goths, the emo kids, and such. Eren drew a row of kids with different clothing styles. When I got into high school, was when I came to terms with the fact that I am bisexual. But of course, people weren’t as open to the idea of anything other than heterosexuality back then. Only my closest friends knew, and in ninth grade, I met my first love._

 

Levi froze, he hadn’t expected Eren to talk about their relationship. He watched two stick figures be drawn with a heart around them.

 

_We’ll call him ‘L’. Yes, it was a boy. I had met L in eighth grade the previous year, and we became really close friends. The summer before ninth grade, we talk on the phone almost everyday. We played twenty questions for hours on end, so it was more like ‘how many questions can we ask each other in a six hour period’._

 

Another laugh as Eren drew two stick figures on phones.

 

_My mom and dad found out about me dating a boy and they were not happy. They told me to never talk to L again, or they would take me out of school and away from my friends. My dad was the worst, saying he wouldn’t have a gay son. So I kept my relationship with L a secret for all of ninth grade, and well into tenth. I loved him so much, he was my first kiss. That’s something you’ll never forget. The way my lips tingled and the way my body felt like it was being electrified was addicting. That feeling never went away, either. The stories we read weren’t lying._

 

Levi watched as Eren drew two angry faces, a man and a woman. Then two stick figures in a heart, kissing.

 

_My parents went through my laptop when I was at school one day in tenth grade. They found my social network that I had kept a secret, it was where I talked to L when I wasn’t at school, and they saw that I put on there that I was bisexual. They came up to the school and signed the papers to take me out. Thankfully, I was able to see L before I left. I told him to be safe and live his life to the fullest. I still have the last note he gave me._

 

There was rustling in the background and Levi was surprised he could hear it over his own pounding heart. Then a piece of paper came into view, and he saw his familiar handwriting.

 

_I will do whatever I can to make you happy. Everything will be alright in the end, I promise. I love you._

 

The paper was folded and put to the side.

 

_Those few words have kept me going for the past thirteen years. When dark thoughts cloud my mind, I bring out this note and read it. It helps me feel better. Moving on. After my parents took me out of school, I was home-schooled until I graduated. I was only allowed to have Mikasa and Armin hang out at my house, and that was only while supervised. My parents didn’t want to take a chance of them talking to me about L. I developed severe depression after I was taken out of school. I also developed anxiety disorder, and I began to self harm._

 

Eren drew two parallel lines with lines going horizontal between them.

 

_I cut my arms at first, but then my parents saw and threatened to send me to a mental institution. So I began to cut where they couldn’t see. My thighs, my hips, and my biceps where t-shirts covered. I finally graduated, and I was allowed to go to college. It was a community college, but it gave me a chance to get out of my parents house._

 

Levi watched the sign for the technical college in their hometown be drawn. Eren had never moved away like the rumors said, he was just on what was basically house arrest. And when he himself, had graduated, he had moved to a college town three hours away.

 

 _I met more people there. People I’m still friends with to this day. There’s Connie and Sasha, who of course are the very same two who help me do my cooking videos. And then Jeanbo and Freckled Jesus, otherwise known as Jean and Marco. They’ve been in a few vlogs and of course they own the most amazing coffee shop in the world,_ **Coffee With Love!**

 

Levi could not believe this. The very same coffee shop, the only coffee shop he bought his tea leaves from, was owned by two of Eren’s friends. And they had been open for about three years.

 

He could almost hear Fate laughing at him.

 

_And then I met Danielle. She was foul-mouthed and hot-tempered, but had beautiful brown eyes. She was actually the one who asked me out._

 

Another laugh as Eren drew a woman with curly hair and dark eyes.

 

_I was reluctant. I was scarred from my past relationship with L, it was the only one I had ever been in. But she was relentless, and I finally agreed. We actually had fun! We kept going on dates, and eventually she became my girlfriend. We dated for a year before I told her I loved her, and then six months later, I asked her to marry me. She said yes!_

 

A stick figure down on one knee while another stood, a giant ring with a diamond was drawn around them.

 

Levi swallowed thickly.

 

_We got married on the beach, it was just a small ceremony, and then two weeks later we found out she was pregnant._

 

There was a pause.

 

_Things began to go downhill about five months into Danielle’s pregnancy. We had talked about not having children, she more so than I. But when I found out she was pregnant, I was ecstatic. She...wasn’t._

 

A stick figure drawn with a big belly and a frown on it’s face.

 

_The day Sorey was born was the happiest day of my life. He’s a Pisces! A laugh, a drawing of a small baby with two fishes swimming around it. It was hard, being newlyweds and having a newborn. I thought everything was going to be fine. I was wrong. When Sorey was six month old, Danielle handed me the divorce papers. I cried, I begged her to stay, but she just wasn’t happy with me anymore. She said she just couldn’t be a mother, and she didn’t want to stick around and make Sorey feel hated by his own mother. Who was I to deny her happiness? I wasn’t going to force her to stay with me if she wasn’t happy! I signed the papers, and she gave up her rights to Sorey. I haven’t seen her since Sorey was about one and a half years old. She hasn’t called not once to check on him. I hear she married some rich guy. I’m honestly happy for her._

 

Levi watched colors fly across the screen as Eren drew what he described with stick figures and basic shapes.

 

_That was about six years ago. I worked in a book shop for the longest time, and then I had a customer tell me I was, and I quote, “pretty enough to be a YouTuber.” So I tried it, I posted a vlog of going to the mall with Mikasa and Armin, with Sorey in tow._

 

_You guys loved that shit._

 

Eren laughed as he drew a camera and the YouTube symbol.

 

_I made YouTube videos for almost two years while working at the bookshop, and then after the ‘Chapstick Challenge’ I did with Armin, my subscriber count sky-rocketed. YouTube noticed and now I’m getting a check just to make videos. You guys do not understand how happy I am now. I get to spend more time with my son than most parents can say they do. I get to interact with my fans, I meet you guys on the street and seeing your smiling and excited faces honestly makes me so fucking happy. Thank you. All of you who watch this._

 

_I_ _f you take anything from this story, just: If you find someone who sets a fire in your soul, don’t ever let them go. Never let them go, please._

 

_T_ _hat’s it guys. Thank you for watching! Bye!_

 

The video ended as Eren drew his face in the middle with a bunch of small stick figures surrounding him.

 

Levi sat back in his office chair, paperwork forgotten for once. ‘ _I should have tried harder to find him._ ’

 

He didn’t know what else to do, he called Hanji. “Glasses, come over.”

 

“Huh? Levi? Why?”

 

“It’s important. It’s...it’s Eren.” He heard a resounding click.

 

He sighed as he walked to his door, hearing the thumping of Hanji running down the hall. He opened it before she could bang on it and wake the whole building.

 

“Be quiet, Norah is in the bed.” he told her as soon as the door opened.

 

She immediately calmed down, closing her mouth from yelling whatever was about to leave her mouth. Levi fixed them two cups of tea as she went to his office and laid on the couch. He handed Hanji her cup and sat in his office chair.

 

“We have a new neighbor.”

 

“Levi! I thought you said this was about Eren!? Why are you...telling me about...our...new...oh my God. You’re fucking kidding me!”

 

Levi shook his head. “He’s...he lives right the fuck next to me Hanji!”

 

Hanji was just grinning at him like a maniac. “I have to show you something, okay?”

 

“Alright Levi.”

 

He motioned for her to come over to his desk, where he restarted Eren’s _Draw My Life video_.

 

She watched with an intense gaze as Eren drew his life out for millions to see. When the video was finished, Levi’s stomach was still in knots from hearing about Eren talk about their relationship, his self harm, the way his ex-wife treated him and their child.

 

“Levi, I don’t know what to say.”

 

“Tell me to not speak to him.”

 

“You know I won’t do that.” Levi told his best friend the things that had occurred just hours before.

 

“Levi, as your best friend. I am telling you to go for this! Fate is smiling on you two, so stop dipping your foot in the pool and dive the fuck in!” He chuckled at Hanji’s movie reference.

 

“And if he doesn’t want that?”

 

“Levi, if he didn’t want to see you again, he wouldn’t have agreed to let your kids play together.”

 

“Hanji, if...if I lose him again. It’ll break me.” Levi covered his eyes with one of his hands.

 

Hanji frowned at him. “Levi Ackerman, you will do no such thing. You know why? Because of Norah. She needs her Papa. Erwin and I will not let you get like you used to be.”

 

Levi shuddered as he thought of all the mornings he woke up without memories of the previous night, of _who_ he had been with the previous night.

 

“You’re right. I’m sorry”, he apologized.

 

“It’s okay, I understand. Just please don’t talk like that okay? I don’t want to see you like that again. Norah wouldn’t understand, either.” She knew she was being cruel, bringing Norah into the argument, but Levi needed that slap in the face. The two stayed up for a while longer, talking about high school, and how Levi should approach talking to Eren, and worst of all, how to ask him on a date.

 

“Become his friend first, try to feel his vibes towards you. Then, if you’re feeling that he’s feeling it, ask him to the pier for a night or dinner or something. Do the things you two weren’t able to do as teenagers.” Levi thought about it and nodded, bidding Hanji goodnight as she went back to her own apartment on the opposite side of the building.

 

Levi showered and crawled into bed, and, emotionally exhausted, fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love is an open dooooooor!

“Daddy!”

 

Eren could have sworn he heard Sorey calling for him.

 

“Daddy!”, the ‘y’ being dragged out to sound like “daddeeeeee”.

 

Then Eren felt something very heavy pounce on his stomach. He made an ‘ _oof_ ’ sound and opened his eyes. He looked into the eyes of his way too energetic son, looking over at the clock, he saw that it was almost ten. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes, “Hey little dude. Ready for breakfast?”

 

“Yeah! I want pancakes! Daddy! Daddy! Guess what?”, his son was almost yelling.

 

Eren looked at him sternly and put a finger over his mouth, signaling for him to talk quietly.

 

“What is it?”, Eren asked after Sorey had stopped bouncing.

 

“I went to the bathroom by myself last night! I woke up and I almost called out for you, but then I saw my night light on in the bathroom and it wasn’t too dark and I walked in there by myself and went back to bed after I peed. All by myself daddy!”

 

Eren grinned at the young boy sitting on his legs, “Are you serious? That’s amazing Sorey! I’m so proud of you! This calls for a celebration, how about I put chocolate chips in the pancakes?”

 

He watched as his son laughed and clapped his hands, “yes please daddy!”

 

Sorey got off of Eren’s legs and went into his room to change clothes, while Eren himself got dressed. He felt lazy today, so he put on his favorite pair of leggings that he had ‘borrowed’ from Mikasa (but never gave back), and a loose fitting tank top. He walked into the kitchen and prepared the pancakes, while Sorey sat on the couch and watched some cartoons. When he was done, he brought two plates and the syrup over to his mini-clone and they sat together on the couch, eating pancakes and watching cartoons.

 

“Alright Sorey, I have to go record some videos. I’ve already hooked up your system so just put in a game and play it alright? If you need me come to my office.”

 

Eren took the plates and washed them quickly before walking down the hallway. Sorey’s door was open, and he watched his son get settled in the gaming chair he had occupied the night before. Eren walked to the next door and walked to his chair. He still had a few boxes to unpack, but they didn’t hold anything that he needed right away.

 

He fired up his computer, adjusted his camera and microphone, placed his headphones on and started his game of MineCraft. He was playing a mod that was supposed to replicate the Sims. He began his video when the game loaded.

 

"Hey guys! Welcome to the MineCraft Sims Mod part four!"

 

Sorey was playing a game called “Child of Light”.

 

It had such pretty colors and it looked like a story book. Sometimes the fights were hard to beat, but if he worked at it enough, he could eventually get past the enemies. He didn’t know how long he played for, but he heard a knock on their front door.

 

“Daddy! Someone’s at the door!”, Sorey yelled, but got no response.

 

He paused his game and got up, walking to the office and seeing the door cracked. He peered inside and saw his daddy playing MineCraft, building something.

 

“How the fuck am I supposed to build this? I may have to use a cheat guys.” Sorey giggled at his daddy’s bad language, and decided not to disturb his daddy.

 

Besides, it might be Aunt Mika or Uncle Armin at the door!

 

He walked to the door and pressed an ear against it, “Who is it?”

 

“It’s Norah!”

 

Sorey grinned as he unlocked the door and yanked it open.

 

“Norah! What’re you doing here?”

 

He looked up and saw Norah’s papa standing behind her. He looked nervous, but Sorey couldn’t tell why.

 

“I was going to ask if I could play. Papa said if it was alright with your daddy I could come over and play today?” She grinned at him and he grabbed her hand.

 

“Daddy is talking to the camera, come on let’s go ask! Come on Mr. Levi,” Sorey reached out and grabbed Levi’s hand as well and dragged them both inside. Levi had just enough time to reach back with his free hand and shut the door.

 

“Daddy is playing MineCraft. Have you ever played it, Norah? It’s so fun to build stuff and then blow it up with the TNT!”, Sorey chattered as they walked down the hall.

 

Levi took in his surroundings. The furniture was neutral colored, beige, white, and black. There were pictures hanging in the hall and living room. Most were of Sorey and Eren, some had other people in the picture with Eren, Levi assumed it was the friends he had talked about in the video. Two pictures caught Levi’s eye; one picture was of Eren holding Sorey who had to have been only two at the time, and they were standing with Eren’s parents, the other picture was of Eren and his mom, hugging. Levi never forgave Eren’s parents for separating them, and he felt even more hatred after learning they had basically locked away their son and isolated him. The fact that they knew about his self harm and yet did nothing was enough to make him see red. As they approached a door he shook his head, clearing his thoughts as Sorey pushed the door open. Eren sat in a chair, facing away from the door and was staring at the screen with such concentration.

 

“Are you fucking serious? Who even thought a Sims mod would be good for MineCraft? Honestly, fuck the person who made this. I swear to God I hate this game.” Eren was shaking his head as he said this, Levi wasn’t familiar with the game, but Norah was.

 

He watched as Eren’s son walked up to him and tapped him on the elbow, “Daddy.”

 

Eren jumped and pulled his headphones off quickly. “Sorey! Jeez kid are you trying to give me a heart attack at 28? What’s up little dude?” Just as the last sentence left his mouth, he heard snickering. Eren looked over and met silver eyes and felt his face flush red.

 

“L-Levi. What’s, um, what’s up?”, Eren asked nervously.

 

“My brat wanted to know if she could play with your brat.” Eren was definitely blushing, the sound of that deep voice caused an electric shock to shoot up his spine.

 

“Um, yeah. I was just about finished actually. I’m about ready to hurl this thing out the fucking window”, Eren laughed nervously as Levi smiled at him.

 

“Alright. If she’s any trouble then please don’t hesitate to come get me”, Levi said this with a stern look at Norah, while she squinted her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

 

“Okay, will do!” Eren got out of the office chair and stretched, he didn’t notice the way Levi’s eyes traveled down his body as his tank top rode up his stomach. Levi licked his lips and turned his head, feeling his cheeks tinge with pink.

 

“See you later then. Norah, be good”, Eren watched with a fond smile as he watched Levi lean down and kiss his daughter on the head.

 

The brunet walked him to the door, where he was putting his shoes back on.

 

“I’ll come get her in like two hours. I won’t let her bother you for that long. She’s um, apparently a fan of yours.” Levi said while looking down at his hands. He didn’t know how much self control he would be able to keep if he looked into the clear teal orbs that were staring back at him.

 

“If she’s anything like you, I’m sure she won’t be a problem”, Eren said with a laugh, then caught himself. “I, uh, I mean. I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

 

“It’s okay, I understand. Hey, um, Eren?”

 

“...Yeah?”

 

“If you ever want to, you know, talk, about anything, I’ll listen. Okay? I uh, want to try being your friend again, if you know, you want.”

 

‘ _Smooth as a fucking jagged rock, Ackerman_ ’, Levi wanted to slap himself.

 

Eren’s eyes were wide with shock. He honestly didn’t know how to respond to that, he thought Levi would hate him for what he did. Well, Armin had said this was their chance to reconcile things, so fuck it.

 

“Um, Sorey is going to stay with my mom this weekend. How about I make us dinner and we talk about it?”, Eren was trying so hard to keep his voice in check. His muscles hurt with how badly he was trying not to let his hands visibly shake.

 

Levi’s heart was pounding a thousand miles a minute, he was sure he was having a heart attack.

 

‘ _Stop dipping your foot in the pool and dive the fuck in!_ ’, Hanji’s voice screeched in his head. His mouth felt dry but words were still able to climb up his throat.

 

“I’d like that.”

 

He saw Eren visibly relax, and he released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

 

“Alright, then I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

 

That brilliant smile was painting Eren’s face again, and Levi sucked in a sharp breath. His memories couldn’t compare to seeing the real thing a foot in front of his face. With a nod, Levi turned to the door and walked out.

 

Going into his own apartment, he quickly made his way to his office, starting on the paperwork he meant to catch up on last night. Drowning himself in paperwork always helped him when he was stressed.

 

Eren shut the door behind Levi and let out a huge breath.

 

‘ _Okay, so you have a dinner date with your ex-boyfriend who is basically the love of your life this weekend. It’s cool, you’re cool. Act like a fucking adult, you’re not fourteen anymore!_ ’, he was arguing with himself as he walked into the living room, where his son and Norah were sitting on the couch. They were beginning to watch Frozen and Eren had to check himself from groaning. Sorey loved that movie but oh my God it can get so annoying.

 

“Can I join you guys?”

 

The two kids nodded and Eren sat between them, immersing himself into the movie as the two kids on his side rested their heads on his shoulders.

 

* * *

 

 

He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he heard the two beside him begin yelling the words to ‘ _Let It Go_ ’. Watching Elsa embrace herself and her powers of ice, Eren thought back to a conversation he had with Mikasa a few years ago.

 

_“Eren, just look him up on Google or something! If you find him, reach out to him and invite him to dinner or something”, his best friend was sitting on the couch with him while he watched Sorey sleep on the baby monitor._

 

_“Mikasa, I can’t. I’m pretty sure he hates me and it’ll just be awkward to be like, ‘hey, I broke up with you because of my homophobic parents and now I’m a divorced single dad. Wanna go on a date?’. Fuck that ‘Kasa.”_

 

_Mikasa sighed, “Your mom has apologized for the way she let your dad treat you. And no offense, I know he’s your dad, but he’s dead now. He can’t hold you back anymore. Let go of the restrictions you’re putting on yourself. It’s been three years since the divorce and you haven’t went on one date. Armin and I have talked about it, and we were wondering if you would consider seeing a therapist?"_

 

_Eren’s body froze, and he slid his eyes over to the dark haired woman sitting beside him._

 

_“Excuse me?”_

 

_“Eren, don’t look at me like that. You’ve been cutting yourself again, don’t think we haven’t noticed. What’s Sorey going to think if he sees your scars?”_

 

_Eren didn’t meet her eyes, because she was right. He was cutting again, had been since the Danielle officially had her name taken off of the birth certificate. His life had fallen apart all over again, and he felt powerless._

 

_“I’m sorry Mikasa.”_

 

_Her eyes softened, “It’s okay Eren. You know Armin and I love you so much, we just don’t want anything to happen to you. Sorey wouldn’t understand.”_

 

_He knew, God he knew that. When he cut and thought of Sorey, of leaving his precious son in the world all alone without a mother OR a father, he cried harder and cut deeper. Deep enough to leave nasty, purple scars, but never deep enough to kill him. He just loved the way the razor felt against his skin. It was the only emotion he could control._

 

_“Please Eren, at least consider it.”_

 

_He did. It didn’t take much convincing from Armin’s logical and Mikasa’s emotional point of view. As his son looked into his eyes everyday and said, “Daddy I love you so much!”_

 

_He cried all night, holding Levi’s note to his chest and when the tears would clear up enough, he’d read the familiar words written in messy handwriting. He called Mikasa a few days later._

 

_“So who’s this therapist?”_

 

By the time he snapped back to reality, the movie was over.

 

“Daddy! Daddy! Can you sing for me and Norah? Please?”, Sorey was tapping his arm.

 

His son always did this after they watched a Disney movie. He admitted he wasn’t a bad singer, Jeanbo even convinced him to record a couple of covers of his favorite songs to sell on iTunes. It brought in extra money and the fans loved it.

 

“What song, little dude?”

 

“The Frozen song! Love is an open dooooooor!”, Sorey dragged out the ‘oh’ sound as he sang with a higher pitch.

 

Eren laughed at his little monster, “Alright. But you two have to sing with me, okay?”

 

The two children nodded up at him. Eren walked to the door leading to the balcony and opened it, seeing as he was slightly warm from having two little bodies pressed up against him for an hour and a half.

 

He cleared his throat and began to sing, “All my life has been a series of doors in my face...”

 

* * *

 

 

Levi arched his back and it made a satisfying ‘ _pop_ ’. He stood from his desk and looked at the time, smiling to himself, he had made use of his time and gotten so much done.

 

He still had a few minutes until he was due to get Norah from Eren’s, so he walked out onto the balcony. Letting the cool air whip about him, he tried some breathing exercises to clear his head. He turned his head and Eren’s balcony door open, he thought he heard singing.

 

“I mean it’s crazy!”, that was definitely Eren. Why was he singing?

 

“What?!”, was that Sorey and Norah? What the hell was going on over there?

 

“We finish each others’,”

 

“SANDWICHES!” The two children yelled back at Eren.

 

Oh my God, they were singing a song from Frozen. He didn’t even know Eren could sing!

 

The brunet had been so shy and quiet back in school, he supposed becoming a YouTuber had brought the younger male out of his shell.

 

He listened with amusement as the three continued to finish the song. Norah wasn’t really a loud child, more quiet and reserved, but still spoke her mind when she felt it was needed. He had to admit, Eren’s singing was amazing. As he listened to Eren pitching his voice high and low for the male and female parts, he felt a warmth bloom in his chest. God, Eren was the only person that had ever made him feel like his heart was going to burst from his rib cage.

 

He laughed at himself for being so ridiculously sappy.

 

Levi walked out of his door and knocked on Eren’s, which was soon opened by the man himself. His cheeks were bright red, eyes wide and a grin plastered on his face.

 

“Oh, hey Levi.”

 

“Papa! Eren sang for us! And he danced!”, Norah came running and hugged Levi’s waist.

 

“Oh he did now? That sounds fun, but listen, we need to get going. You have to eat dinner and get into bed.” Levi patted his daughter’s head.

 

“Okay Papa”, she turned to Eren, “thank you for letting me hang out with Sorey. I hope I can do it again soon!” She hugged the brunet around the waist as she had her father before. Levi was actually shocked, she usually wasn’t so trusting when she met someone new.

 

Eren’s son walked up to the raven haired man, “thank you for letting Norah play!” Levi nodded his head down at the mini-Eren.

 

“Thank you for letting her come over. Sorry if she was any trouble”, Levi said to Eren, who was looking at him with an amused expression.

 

“She was no trouble at all, we had lots of fun actually. She really is a mini you, Levi”, Eren giggled behind his hand.

 

‘ _God I’m going to die if he gets any fucking cuter. I want to kiss him so bad_ ’, Levi thought.

 

‘ _Goddamn he’s so fucking sexy, I just want to kiss him. I don’t want him to leave. Jeez, Eren. Pace yourself dude_ ’, Eren argued with himself.

 

“Well, I should get Sorey to bed,” Eren said after a little bit.

 

“Same here, say goodnight Norah.”

 

“Goodnight Sorey!”, Norah threw her arms around Sorey’s neck.

 

“Nighty Norah!”, Sorey grinned at his new friend and hugged her back.

 

“Goodnight Eren”, Levi said with a wave and a small smile.

 

“Nighty Levi, see you later”, Eren replied.

 

Levi was trying his best to ignore the second part of that sentence. Of course he was imagining the secret promise behind those words. They were neighbors, of course they’d see each other, he controlled his muscles to keep from slapping himself.

 

Eren shut the door and locked it, telling Sorey to get ready to eat dinner.

 

Levi and Norah ate left overs, watching TV together for a few hours afterward. When his daughter fell asleep on the couch, Levi carried her to her bed and after switching off the light, crawled into bed himself.

 

Eren let Sorey stay up later than usual so they could record a gaming video together. They usually just played MineCraft and built stuff and then blew it up with TNT, which was Sorey’s favorite thing to do.

 

When they were finished, Sorey could barely keep his eyes open. Eren carried him to bed and afterwards, went to sleep in his own bed, hugging his pillow close.

**Author's Note:**

> I live off of Kudos and Comments, Feed me Reader-Chan


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